We have been told that it's a good idea to have some sort of voltage protection system that will protect the rv from damage due to either high or low voltage at campgrounds. You can have an issue with the pedestal as soon as you plug in, or with surges. You just don't know who has been working on the electricity at these campgrounds. I remember a claim I handled once, where someone's rv was damaged due to faulty wiring that had just been repaired. It turned out the campground handled the damage, but you never know.
Either way, your expensive electronics can be damaged before you have any warning. We decided on a Progressive plug in unit and ordered it from Lawrence Rv after we spoke to him today. He and his wife are full timers and have been selling these units for 8 years. He was recommended on Rv-Net Forum and is a vendor at many rally's.
We ordered one and he was kind enough to send it priority shipping to be sure we got it before we leave next Thursday. They make them in either 30 or 50 amp and plug in or hard wired. We decided against the hard wired because we didn't want anything else to have to install. We can lock it onto the pedestal to prevent theft. You plug it into the campground pedestal, give it 2 minutes to check and if everything is ok, your rv power comes on. If there is a problem it will give you an error code telling you what the problem is. It automatically shuts down power if the power voltage gets over 132 or under 104. I understand rv air conditioners are particularly sensitive to surges.
$259 out the door. One more needed item purchased.
The next important thing I ordered was some good quality fire extinguishers. We have the cheapies that you buy at Walmart. I think they're the kind that leave a powdered mess all over if you use them. I remember a small oven fire in the house years ago where I chose to use one and what a mess it made of my kitchen! I seriously would hesitate to use one again for that reason.
Anyway, we got these from Mac the Fire guy. He's another one I found from Rv-net forum and he also attends many rv rally's.
We bought the fire safety kit for $150..out the door. Couldn't get a photo but it consists of 3 little extinguishers and one larger refillable one. There is a lot of good info on this website and I would encourage everyone to read it.
You don't want this to happen to you!
He also sells automatic units that you can mount in your refrigerator or engine compartment. They activate automatically if the temperature gets over 280 degrees. They are a little pricey though...although not as pricey as a new motor home, or death!
I still need to renew our Emergency Roadside Assistance. It's expired and I haven't bothered to renew since we haven't gone anywhere. I've debated between Good Sams (where we've been) or Coach Net. I just didn't feel like spending anymore money though. Maybe tomorrow.
We're counting down until we leave and we really have a lot to do. One step at a time, I guess. I almost need a house looker to light a fire under me!
Excellent post. I have the power surge protector on my list of potential purchases right now. Thanks for the reminder and the link.
ReplyDeleteBoth things you got are real handy to have and can save you a lot of money in the long run.
ReplyDeleteYou did good. We've been in at three campgrounds where our surge guard saved us from thousand dollars of damage. We have all of Mac's fire extinguishers and we hope never to have to use them. But they are there if we do need them.
ReplyDeleteOn the fridge system - what kind of fridge do you have? We called Mac about one for our fridge which is a dometic two door fridge - not the four door type and he told us we didn't need his system.
Also - you want to think very seriously about the Roadside Assistance. It will pay for itself in just one tow or blow out. We changed from Good Sam to Coach Net and are really happy that we did.
We have been using a surge guard for years. It has saved us damage on a number of occasions. We have been to a good number of campgrounds with bad power. The advantage of these devices is that they detect serious problems during the 2.5 minute check it does before connecting the power.
ReplyDeleteWe would not travel with out one.
We also carry four fire extinguishers along with two smoke detectors and two co dectectors.
Looks like you are getting those important items off your list one by one! Looks like they will do the job pretty well. We saw a fire demo with Mac - he sells some good products.
ReplyDeleteGood idea on the voltage protection system. Just remember now, they're no good unless you use them!!
ReplyDeletePut this in my someday file.
ReplyDeleteI want one of the surge protectors, but can't seem to convince Roger of the importance of it. I've seen many RV'ers using them.
ReplyDeleteWe have used Coach-Net twice - once just for a call for them to recommend a service center. Then last month when we broke down on I-4. They were excellent in both situations.
I like the prices and services of your new mail service. I think I'll switch to them next time. The idea of their online services is impressive.
You won't regret the power management system, we have seen ours at work a couple times and glad we invested in it. We have Mac's fire extinguishers too. He sure knows how to scare the begeebees out of you but at least I am ready for a fire, including a plan to get out of the house.
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